Two bowl barrows in Rendlesham Forest, 285m north west of Manor Cottage

Reasons for Designation

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The two barrows 285m north west of Manor Cottage survive well and retain important archaeological information. Evidence concerning the construction of the barrows, the relationship between them and the manner and duration of their use, as well as of the local environment, at and prior to that time, will be contained in the barrow mounds, in the soils preserved beneath the mounds and in the fill of the buried ditch.

Details

The monument includes two small bowl barrows situated on a low spur immediately to the north of the parish boundary between Capel St Andrew and Hollesley. The two barrows, which are adjacent on a north-south alignment, are both visible as earthen mounds. The northern mound, which is encircled by a ditch, is well defined on the north and west sides and stands to a height of approximately 0.7m, covering a circular area approximately 9m in diameter. The ditch, from which earth was dug during construction of the barrow, has become largely infilled but survives as a buried feature, marked on the western side of the mound by a slight hollow approximately 3m wide and 0.15m deep in the ground surface. The second barrow, 3m to the south of the first, is truncated on the south side by an east-west footpath which follows the parish boundary. Approximately 70% of the mound survives, standing to a height of 0.7m and covering a sub-circular area measuring approximately 6m north- south, with a maximum diameter of 9m east-west.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

21294

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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